…Reverses New Rule on Swearing-in
By Yinka Giwa
The Senate on Thursday rescinded part of its controversial amendments to the Standing Orders after admitting that provisions relating to the inauguration of senators-elect and election of presiding officers conflicted with the Constitution, although new eligibility restrictions for principal offices were retained.
The reversal followed growing tension within the Red Chamber over amendments widely interpreted as moves to shape the 2027 leadership succession battle in favour of ranking senators aligned with the current leadership.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele moved the motion for rescission and recommittal of the affected provisions during plenary.
“The Senate accordingly resolves to rescind its earlier decisions relating to the amendments made to Order 2(2) and Order 3(1) of the Senate Standing Orders, 2026,” Bamidele said.
He explained that the Senate discovered that some of the provisions introduced on May 5 “may give rise to constitutional inconsistencies and unintended tensions” with the 1999 Constitution.
Citing Section 52 of the Constitution, Bamidele clarified that senators-elect are constitutionally permitted to participate in the election of presiding officers before taking their oaths of office.
“In other words, Mr President and distinguished colleagues, the election of the officers will have to take place, as it has always been, before the swearing-in of senators,” he said.
The Senate had earlier amended Order 3(1) to bar senators-elect from participating in any proceedings, including voting for the Senate President and Deputy Senate President, until after taking the oath of office.
The now-reversed provision stated: “A Senator-elect shall not participate in any proceedings of the Senate, including voting for the election of the President and Deputy President of the Senate, unless and until he has taken the Oaths prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.”
Under longstanding parliamentary practice, however, presiding officers are elected before the swearing-in of senators and under the supervision of the Clerk of the National Assembly.
Reacting to the motion, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the correction as necessary to align Senate procedures with constitutional provisions.
“This is a very straightforward motion. It is just for us to go in conformity with the Constitution. We don’t need any debate on this,” Akpabio said.
Despite reversing the swearing-in provision, the Senate retained controversial amendments imposing stricter eligibility criteria for contesting principal and presiding offices.
Under the revised Order 3(3), a senator seeking election as a presiding officer must have served at least two terms spanning eight years, with one term immediately preceding the election.
The amendment provides: “A Senator shall not be eligible to contest as a Presiding Officer in an election unless he has been elected and served as a Senator for at least two terms of eight years, one term of which shall immediately precede such election.”
The eligibility rules have triggered unease among first-term senators who believe the changes are aimed at excluding them from future leadership contests, particularly ahead of the anticipated 2027 battle for the Senate Presidency.
The controversy had erupted a day earlier when Senator Adams Oshiomhole openly confronted Akpabio during plenary over the amendment process.
Proceedings were briefly disrupted after Oshiomhole repeatedly attempted to raise a point of order while the Votes and Proceedings were being considered, prompting sharp exchanges with the Senate leadership.
Akpabio had warned the former Edo State governor against disrupting proceedings, saying: “Oshiomhole, if you become unruly, we will use the rules to take you out of the Senate.”
The clash was widely linked to anxiety among some first-term lawmakers over the new rules, which effectively shut them out of immediate contention for principal and presiding offices in the next National Assembly.
Speaking after Wednesday’s reversal, Oshiomhole cautioned the Senate against rushing amendments without broad consultation.
“I believe the average age in this Senate is over 40, and so we don’t have an excuse for youthful exuberance,” he said.
“So when we are making a law, we should accommodate diverse views. That way, what one person forgot, the other person will remember.”
He also urged that future amendments be subjected to wider debate before passage.
Bamidele, however, faulted the drama that trailed the earlier amendment process and insisted that lawmakers with objections should pursue them through substantive motions rather than disrupting plenary.
“We cannot allow this kind of drama to go on in the Senate. We must put a stop to it,” he said.
“This drama must stop because it is not helping the image of this institution. This is the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Senate also approved other amendments affecting sitting hours, committee representation across geopolitical zones, suspension procedures, and the establishment of new committees on Livestock Development, Reparations and Repatriations, as well as regional development commissions.